Paramount Skydance has named its 10-member board of administrators, which incorporates tech scion David Ellison, Oracle Chief Govt Safra A. Catz and former Paramount Photos chairwoman Sherry Lansing.
Ellison will function chairman of the board.
The board is scheduled to reconstitute Thursday with the shut of Skydance Media’s $8.4-billion acquisition of Paramount International.
Just one present Paramount board member — Barbara Byrne — will stay. Paramount’s present chairwoman, Shari Redstone, and others are set to exit, handing over the legendary leisure firm that features CBS, Comedy Central, MTV, Showtime and Melrose Avenue’s century-old film studio, Paramount Photos, to the brand new group of householders.
The board tilts closely towards corporations which have a monetary stake: The Larry Ellison household and RedBird Capital Companions, backers of Skydance Media which have helped finance the Paramount transaction.
The incoming panel additionally represents a power-sharing association. The Ellisons have 5 designates on the board, together with David Ellison and Catz, a longtime Oracle government who has served as its CEO since 2019. (She is also a earlier Walt Disney Co. director.)
The non-public fairness agency has two representatives: RedBird founder and managing associate Gerry Cardinale and John L. Thornton, the agency’s chairman.
As well as, two executives with RedBird ties — Jeff Shell and Andy Gordon — will take board seats. Each are becoming a member of Paramount from RedBird as senior executives. Shell, a former NBCUniversal chief government, is changing into Paramount’s president whereas Gordon, a longtime Goldman Sachs banker, has been named Paramount’s chief working and chief technique officer. (Shell will serve on the board as a management-designee).
Paul Marinelli, president of Larry Ellison-backed Lawrence Investments, will be a part of the board.
There will probably be three unbiased board members, together with Byrne, Justin G. Hamill, a managing director of Silver Lake, and Lansing, who was a groundbreaking government in Hollywood and fashionable steward of Paramount greater than twenty years in the past.
“We are thrilled and honored to welcome this truly outstanding group of director-designees to our board,” David Ellison mentioned in a press release.
The Federal Communications Fee, led by President Trump-appointed Chairman Brendan Carr, accredited the Skydance-Paramount merger two weeks in the past after months of turmoil. The FCC’s 2-1 vote got here after Paramount agreed final month to pay Trump $16 million to settle the president’s lawsuit over edits to a “60 Minutes” broadcast.
The FCC approval eliminated the final hurdle, permitting the Skydance buy to maneuver ahead.
Redstone, the daughter of leisure titan Sumner Redstone, and Paramount’s board agreed to the Skydance takeover in July 2024. As a part of the transaction, the Redstone household funding agency Nationwide Amusements will obtain $2.4 billion for its controlling shares within the firm. The household will come away with $1.75 billion after Nationwide Amusements’ appreciable money owed are paid.
The Redstone shares will go to Larry Ellison and RedBird, which can maintain a minority stake in Nationwide Amusements.
The deal is anticipated to inject $1.5 billion into Paramount’s stability sheet to assist the agency pay down debt. Greater than $4 billion was put aside to purchase again shares of present Paramount shareholders.
Santa Monica-based Skydance will ultimately be folded into Paramount.
